In grateful response to God's grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities, and the world.

With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.

Being "Lutheran," our congregations accept and teach Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone.

GRACE ALONE
God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.

FAITH ALONE
By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.

SCRIPTURE ALONE
The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.

The word "Synod" in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod comes from the Greek words that mean "walking together." It has rich meaning in our church body,because the congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

The congregations of the Synod are "confessional." They hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther's Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.

The Official Seal of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod below is a visual reminder of our congregation's commitment to God's Word in the Lutheran Confessions. For a detailed explanation, click on the seal.

Our Mission

Empowered by the Spirit, compelled by God's love and forgiveness, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church celebrates and shares Jesus Christ through worship and witness, nurture and fellowship.

Our Vision

As a Synod we pray that we will be...

1. Strongly in the Word so that: We believe personally the good news of the forgiveness of our sin through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and joyfully apply this Gospel message to our daily life.
The study of the Holy Scriptures is a high priority for us personally, for our families, for our congregations, for our districts and for our Synod.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we grow as partners who support this vision statement for our Synod.

2. People sensitive and Christ centered so that: We reflect the love of Christ in our lives as we care and show concern for those around us.
In response to the Gospel, our congregations extend care and compassion to hurting people, caring for their spiritual needs and for their physical needs.
Our congregations are sensitive to the diversity of cultures and the variety of needs among their own membership and among the unchurched in their communities.
Our congregations, districts and Synod work together to equip professional church workers and lay members to meet the challenges and opportunities for service to God in the 21st century.

3. Reaching out boldly with the Gospel so that: More people in our communities, our nation and throughout the world are drawn by the Holy Spirit to believe that Jesus Christ, God's Son, is their only savior from sin and their only hope for eternal life with God.
Our congregations reach out boldly with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their communities, inviting others into their midst in order to receive the grace of God through Word and Sacrament.
Our congregations, by God's grace and blessing, experience numerical growth.
Our congregations and districts work together to bring the Gospel message to more and more people throughout the United States across a wide variety of cultures.

4. Faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions so that: We prize highly that which we as an Evangelical Lutheran church believe, teach and confess.
We provide a bold witness to our Scriptural and Confessional faith, in both word and deed.
Our congregations are genuinely Gospel-centered, Word and Sacrament based, communities of faith.
The goals and priorities of our congregations, districts, and Synod flow from and are shaped by the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.

5. Marked by peace and unity so that: We build and strengthen the bond of peace and unity among us and by the grace of God overcome divisions, acknowledge legitimate differences and eliminate roadblocks to the work of the Holy Spirit.
We as families, congregations, districts and as a Synod joyfully trust and support one another in our common mission and ministry.